Public Health Program for Decreasing Risk for Ebola Virus Disease Resurgence from Survivors of the 2013–2016 Outbreak, Guinea

• Main Authors: Mory Keita, Sakoba Keita, Boubacar Diallo, Momo Camara, Samuel Mesfin, Koumpingnin Yacouba Nebie, N’Faly Magassouba, Seydou Coulibaly, Boubacar Barry, Mamadou Oury Baldé, Raymond Pallawo, Sadou Sow, Amadou Bailo Diallo, Pierre Formenty, Mamoudou Harouna Djingarey, Ibrahima Socé Fall, Lorenzo Subissi
• Format: Article
• Language: English
• Published: Centers for Disease Control and Prevention 2020-02-01
• Series: Emerging Infectious Diseases
• Subjects: Ebola; surveillance; Guinea; survivors; Africa; western
• Online Access: https://wwwnc.cdc.gov/eid/article/26/2/19-1235_article
• ISSN: 1080-6040; 1080-6059

At the end of the 2013–2016 Ebola virus disease outbreak in Guinea, we implemented an alert system for early detection of Ebola resurgence among survivors. Survivors were asked to report health alerts in their household and provide body fluid specimens for laboratory testing. During April–September 2016, a total of 1,075 (88%) of 1,215 survivors participated in the system; follow up occurred at a median of 16 months after discharge (interquartile range 14–18 months). Of these, 784 acted as focal points and reported 1,136 alerts (including 4 deaths among survivors). A total of 372 (91%) of 408 eligible survivors had >1 semen specimen tested; of 817 semen specimens, 5 samples from 4 survivors were positive up to 512 days after discharge. No lochia (0/7) or breast milk (0/69) specimens tested positive. Our findings underscore the importance of long-term monitoring of survivors’ semen samples in an Ebola-affected country.